Taiwan's TSMC has revealed a plan to invest $100 billion (approximately 145 trillion won) in additional production facilities in the United States, raising concerns about the feasibility of such plans at home. This is mainly because securing a supply chain for foundry operations, along with hiring personnel and securing funding, is expected to be challenging to resolve in a short time.
According to industry sources on the 6th, the investment announced by TSMC from 2020 to the present totals $165 billion (approximately 241 trillion won). Prior to this investment announcement, TSMC had announced plans to invest $65 billion (approximately 94 trillion won) to build three factories. The first factory recently began mass production of 4 NANO products. The second factory is set to begin operations in 2027, and the third factory in 2030.
As TSMC announces such production facility investment plans, questions about feasibility are being raised locally in Taiwan. For TSMC to operate its planned advanced foundry processes normally, not only must the materials, parts, and equipment needed for the production lines be supplied smoothly, but skilled personnel is also required. Moreover, if the factory is operated in the United States, costs will be higher than in Taiwan, leading to increased financial burdens.
Analysts suggest there will be limitations in swiftly building a foundry supply chain to operate advanced processes in the United States. Economic Daily noted, "Currently, the investment alone is not sufficient to transfer the entire supply chain to the United States," adding, "Generally, TSMC has built factories in proportion to the secured volume, so local suppliers of U.S. equipment and materials are expected to benefit first."
Challenges are also expected in hiring personnel. Along with the investment plan announcement, TSMC stated that it would create over 40,000 jobs. However, despite this job creation effect, it is anticipated that there will be difficulties in hiring skilled engineers capable of managing advanced foundry processes and personnel who can adapt to TSMC's organizational culture.
According to reports from The New York Times and others, currently, half of the workforce at TSMC's factory in Arizona, USA, has been dispatched from Taiwan's TSMC. TSMC has dispatched skilled engineers to operate the factory as scheduled, but frequent conflicts have occurred between dispatched TSMC employees and locally hired workers regarding work hours and organizational culture.
An industry insider remarked, "Engineers capable of managing TSMC's advanced processes are rare globally," adding that "not only is there a shortage of specialized personnel for advanced foundries locally in the United States, but TSMC's organizational culture, which responds quickly to customer demands, is also unfamiliar, making it difficult to secure personnel."
The increasing expenses related to production operations in the U.S. are also a concern. While building production facilities in the U.S. has the advantage of avoiding tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and focusing on acquiring big tech clients in the U.S., the costs that TSMC must bear in the short term are significant. Economic Daily stated, "When operating a factory in the U.S., the salaries for locally hired engineers are about 3 to 5 times higher than those in Taiwan," and added, "With the supply chain for TSMC's factory operations in the U.S. still incomplete, expenses that TSMC will have to incur in the short term will be considerable."
However, there are also opinions suggesting that excessive concerns are unnecessary as TSMC's investment plans can be flexibly adjusted. Guo Mingchi, a researcher at Taiwan's TF International, noted, "The fact that specific details have not been disclosed leaves room for flexible expenditure adjustments based on future market conditions," and added, "This will help mitigate the impact on profitability." Lian Xianming, president of Taiwan's state-run Research Institute of Economic Affairs (CIER), stated, "Quick dialogue with President Trump is preferable, as delaying it could lead to additional burdens," and emphasized that "with TSMC's quick communication, the entity that needs to worry now will be Samsung Electronics."